Promoting Music & The Arts in York & Beyond

Blonde Redhead – Interview

We met up with Blonde Redhead recently for a cagey chat about their recent anniversary tour dates, and any upcoming music they might be working. See how we got on below!

By Jane Howkins

You’re doing a short tour through the UK next week. Are you excited for that?

Yes we are. We usually only stop in London and it’s been a while since we played other cities so it’s very exciting.

You’re playing a date near us at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. Is this an area you enjoy playing in? There are only three UK dates on this tour – why so short, and is there any room for more dates later on?

I don’t recall coming to Leeds in the past so I can’t really answer but the reason for the tour is to promote our EP 3 o’clock, and coming to the UK even for a short tour was important for us. I hope to record a new record soon so we can come back in the near future.

You’ve been around as a band for 25 years! Did you ever imagine you would get as far as you have, and did you think you would still be playing together all these years later?

To be honest I don’t think about time as I find it limiting. We progressed to where we are now because we always thought we could do more and better. Time just passes and records get made and tours happen and here we are. I actually still feel quite similar to the way I felt when we started the band. I am grateful that we were and are able to have done what we did but I’m not surprised.

How do you feel things have changed in the music industry in that time period, and how has it affected you? People always talk about the negatives, but we assume there have been some positives with all the changes in the world since then?

I think it’s harder now to make a living but easier to put out music. There are some negatives and positives, and fairness exists for every artist to have a crack at it. We all know how things have changed so there is no real need for me to tell you

How have your music tastes changed over the years? What sort of stuff originally influenced you, and what have you been listening to recently?

Things change all the time. Influences come and go. I love listening to music more then anything but I am not obsessed about it. It’s a combination of some research and keeping your mind and ears open. It’s too hard and vast a subject to talk about specific influences but to give you something, lately I have been listening to Black Uhuru’s first record and allow the depth of the groove inside me… hopefully something will come from it. This is just now though.

You released a box set in 2016, with your last studio album being released two years before that. Do you have any plans to release any new music anytime soon?

We are working on new music now – hopefully we will start recording this fall.

How have your writing and recording techniques changed over the years? We assume you’ve learnt a lot of tricks in that time!

I don’t know about tricks but we try to keep it pretty basic. I think if we could we would still record on tape only. Technology has unleashed so many options and in my opinion we become more creative when we are limited. So we end up using real instruments and not much software.

You provided the soundtrack to the film The Commentator. How did that come about, and how was the experience? Is it something you would want to do again?

Actually that’s not done yet we are still working on it. I hope it happens soon.

Why do you think people should come and see you perform, and what can people expect from one of your shows?

I don’t know why people should come and see us… wrong person to ask! But I hope people come. We haven’t been in Manchester in many years. The set is a real mix of old and new. It changes every night but after so many records we have the luxury of choosing what we enjoy playing the most and what we think you might enjoy.